


Dark Moons and Bright Hearts

by Keolah



Series: Dark Moons [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Elder Scrolls Lore, F/M, Psijic Order, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25791928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keolah/pseuds/Keolah
Summary: A Khajiit mage from the Fourth Era gets sucked through a time breach into the Second Era.
Relationships: Razum-dar/Female Khajiit Vestige
Series: Dark Moons [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072838
Kudos: 14





	1. The Queen's Decree

Tiglah was in her home in Windhelm when it happened. One minute she was sorting through containers of materials, and the next… darkness. For what felt like an eternity, she felt like she was suffocating, which was a curious sensation since, as a vampire, it had been some time since she had needed to actually breathe. Then she came out into air, into uncomfortably bright sunlight, and then straight into the water.

The first thing that struck her was that the water was clearly too warm for Skyrim, never mind that it had been currently night in Windhelm. The worst of it was that she was unarmed and clad in nothing but her smallclothes, although she found the Talos amulet that she'd been storing still clenched in her hand. She'd picked a very poor time to be rearranging her equipment. She bemoaned her enchanted, exquisitely crafted glass armor, tucked away in a chest in Hjerim Manor and clearly far, far away from wherever she was now.

She slipped the amulet around her neck to free up her hands and swam toward shore, then caught her first glimpse of what could only be a high elven city. No one else would build with such delicate white spires. So was that where she was? Somewhere in the Summerset Isles? An awfully long way from Skyrim indeed.

She climbed up onto the beach and shook herself out. Before anyone spotted her, she took off the amulet and shoved it into a nook inside a piece of driftwood. She had no pockets or shirt with which to hide it and being in Aldmeri Dominion territory, the Thalmor might literally kill her if they saw her with it. She'd come back for it once she got some clothes, though. It was still _hers_. That taken care of, she started to walk to dry her fur off in the hot sun and get her bearings. What manner of teleportation magic had _that_ been? There hadn't been any magical artifacts in Windhelm that could do something like that, that she knew of anyway, so had it been something on the Summerset side of things that had caused the translocation effect? But there was nothing near where she'd come out. Just water.

The sounds of battle up ahead shook her out of her thoughts. She broke into a sprint to see what was going on, and spotted a Khajiit like herself locked in deadly combat with several strange creatures the likes of which she had never seen, like a Daedra and a mudcrab had had some sort of unholy spawn. No time to wish for her bow, swords, or various staves. She wasn't sure how the male Khajiit would react to blatant vampiric powers, either, so she decided to stick with normal magic. Between the male Khajiit's blades and Tiglah's ice and darkness, the foul creatures quickly fell.

"Razum-dar thanks you for the assistance." He gave a suave bow of his orange-topped head. "Terrible way to interrupt your swim, is it not?"

Tiglah nodded in agreement. "Yes, good thing Tiglah is a mage. What _were_ those things?"

Normally, she didn't go in for the Khajiit manner of speaking, but normally she was also wearing full armor and concealing her tail. It was a little hard to conceal being a Khajiit with everything on display like this.

"Raz has never seen such creatures in his life! There was a strange pearl Raz thinks was calling them somehow."

"That's… troubling," Tiglah mused.

"You are new, yes?" the other Khajiit asked.

Tiglah chuckled and glanced down at her swishing tail. "What gave it away? This one thinks most of the people who live on this island do not have quite as much in the way of luscious fur as us."

"Hmm, you seem capable. Like one who won't shy away from a fight even when wearing almost nothing but their fur."

"They may have eaten this one's clothes… she cannot find them anywhere," Tiglah said sheepishly.

"Unfortunate." Razum-dar fished some coins out of his purse and offered them to her. "Here. Buy yourself something to wear. It's the least Raz can do. Surely nothing so splendid as whatever you must have been wearing, but he would be remiss if he were to allow a fellow Khajiit to fight monsters wearing naught more than what a Nord might wear while diving into frigid water during New Life Festival."

Tiglah had to crack a grin at that. "Thanks, Raz."

"Once that is squared away, would you be interested in asking a few questions around Shimmerene? Raz is gathering information, and a less recognizable face would be most helpful."

Tiglah assumed Shimmerene was the name of the town they were by. "That sounds simple enough. What would Tiglah be asking who?"

"Raz has heard rumors and complaints about the Queen's decree. Some of the high elves believe that their island should be only for the high elves, yes? But since the Queen opened up the island to newcomers, they now have to deal with non-high elves. Raz has gotten such looks, and he does not think it is just because of his handsome face!"

Tiglah had never heard much in the way of specifics of what was going on in the Aldmeri Dominion while she was in Skyrim. She could not even say what the Queen's name might be offhand. Best hope someone mentioned it before she embarrassed herself more than she already had. What _had_ she gotten herself into here? Best dig in her claws and make the best of the opportunity. Surely there were great secrets of magic to be gleaned from the reclusive elves, even if her little tropical vacation had been completely unplanned. No one in Skyrim was likely to notice, or care, about her going missing for some time, given her propensity for wandering off without warning or telling anyone where she was going. It did mean she'd either have to start collecting things again or figure out how to open a portal back to Skyrim to access her stuff, though. No matter. She was too excited at the prospect to worry too much about the details right now.

* * *

The high elven tailor didn't have any clothes on hand that took into account a tail. While some Khajiit poked holes even in robes and dresses, Tiglah preferred to keep her tail under a skirt rather than thread it through a tiny hole. She found it more comfortable, and she was used to it. Tiglah gave the tailor the "sea monsters ate my clothes" excuse and most of the coin Raz had given her in order to be properly dressed for the job. If she was going to try to get information, it wouldn't do to have clothes that were either too shabby _or_ too fancy.

After retrieving her amulet and speaking with a Redguard at the docks about his missing cousin, she headed off to look for the next contact, and spotted a building with a sign proclaiming it to be the Mages Guild. Aha! Now that was something she was definitely interested in. It was no College of Winterhold, but they'd probably have different spells available to learn. Wait, didn't the Mages Guild in Cyrodiil disband and split into two groups? Maybe that wasn't the case in Summerset. She headed inside.

"Pardon Khajiit, but what are the requirements to join your guild?"

"If you're interested, I can get you in right away."

Tiglah raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to check if this one even knows magic first?"

"Well, if you don't know magic already, then you must be here to learn magic! And I'm certain that you are actually here to learn magic, and not just to have a bed to sleep in and a roof over your head."

"Fair." Tiglah chuckled. "Tiglah _is_ a mage, though. So can I join?"

"Let's just fill out the appropriate forms… You said your name was Tiglah, correct? How do you spell that? It doesn't have an apostrophe or hyphen in it somewhere, does it?"

Tiglah smirked and spelled her name for him, not that it should have been difficult.

With that done, she went off to find the Argonian Raz had told me about. Or, at least the lizard's body, apparently. She grabbed his pack as evidence and then headed down to the beach to find a high elf woman searching for seashells and complaining about her assistant being detained.

"Now I have to find my own seashells!" the elf groused.

"Seashells, hmm?" Tiglah raised her paws and started channeling a spell. "Detect… items… seashells…"

Markers appeared across the beach. Tiglah had spent long nights perfecting her use of divination magic in order to locate items and guide her to objectives. The mages at the College had taught a spell called "Clairvoyance", but she'd improved on it. She called her resulting spell by the equally fanciful name of "Quest Marker", but mostly she wound up using it to locate her keys and ingredients. You know you're a mage when you use magic to sort through your storerooms rather than label and organize boxes sensibly.

"There's a rather pretty one by that rock over there." She pointed with a claw.

The elf raised an eyebrow and went over to take a look. "A Khajiit mage, will wonders never cease?"

* * *

She found Razum-dar and passed along what she'd learned. With his assistance, she snuck into the monastery to see if she could find the sequestered newcomers. There was definitely something strange going on in here. Magicka buzzed in the air, but she couldn't quite identify the source or type. Daedric? She had plenty of experience with Daedra, but there was something odd about this.

A napping monk mumbled something about the Aldarch taking newcomers into the undercroft. Tiglah wasn't sure what an Aldarch was, but she had a hunch that his office was probably upstairs. Important people always had to be in the highest part of any building. Plus, there were probably things worth pilfering without anyone noticing upstairs, too. What, she was broke, but not for long.

Several rooms down, she came upon an office with a large sphere laying on top of the desk, swirling purple and making her fur stand on end. That had to be the sort of thing Razum-dar had mentioned. She immediately jumped in with divination spells, not sure how long she might have to study the thing. She was so focused upon her magic that she almost didn't hear someone walk in.

"Well, you didn't waste any time in trying to gather information," said a woman's voice behind her.

Tiglah dropped her spell and turned about. The high elven woman was clearly not dressed like a monk, more like a mage. "Tiglah guesses you are not a monk anymore than she is."

"No, not at all. My name is Valsirenn, and I'd imagine we're both here for similar purposes."

"This one sought information about the newcomers who had been taken away, but she had to stop to examine _this_ trinket. There was another like it on the beach earlier that seemed to be calling up monsters to attack." Tiglah sighed and lowered her paws. "Sadly, Tiglah does not believe she will have time to do in-depth divinations before anyone else shows up."

"Very likely," Valsirenn agreed. "I came here looking for a friend, but there seems to be more going on here than I had anticipated. Would you care to join me in exploring the undercroft? If there's trouble, it would be good to have another set of hands, or paws."

Tiglah gave a terse nod. "Let's go."

The undercroft was, unsurprisingly, full of cages, some of which still had living people in them. After freeing them, Tiglah found Valsirenn on the other side of the room crouching over the body of a Nord man who had, from the looks of it, died slaying several Daedra with his bare hands.

"This fellow has certainly earned his mead in Sovngarde," Tiglah said, impressed.

In the next room, they discovered the grim truth of what had been happening to the newcomers. Their life was being drained out to power some sort of sinister ritual, and there was another of those strange pearls. After a quick fight that left Tiglah wishing she had some sort of weapon, she looked back to see that Valsirenn had done something to make the pearl disappear.

"Oh, if we had only gotten here a moment sooner!" Valsirenn bemoaned.

Maybe Tiglah shouldn't have spent so much time shopping, trying on clothes, chatting, joining guilds, locating seashells, and picking up everything that would be easy to fence later.

"What did you do with the pearl?" Tiglah asked.

"Ah, perhaps it's time to explain," Valsirenn said. "You see, I'm a member of the Psijic Order. I cast a spell to teleport the pearl back to Artaeum for study."

"Why am I not surprised that the Psijics wound up involved here somehow?" Tiglah muttered to herself.

Clearly not quietly enough, as Valsirenn asked, "You have had dealings with our order before?"

"There was… an incident involving a crazed Thalmor and a magical artifact he should never have gotten his hands on."

"I had not heard of this," Valsirenn said.

Tiglah shook her head. "Not important right now. Let's get out of here. Tiglah needs to report back what she found out. And hopefully she will not need to be the one to inform some people that their friends and relatives were murdered by cultists."

* * *

"Life-sucking pearls, dark rituals and Psijic mages? This is not the sort of scandal Raz was hoping for."

"Sorry to disappoint," Tiglah said with a faint smirk.

"Where did this Psijic go, anyway?" Raz asked.

"We parted ways. She told Tiglah she'd catch up later."

Tiglah wasn't sure why she'd gotten herself involved in all this in the first place, aside from the fact that Raz was paying her for it and now Valsirenn might put in a good word about her with the Psijic Order. She was certain someone on that island hadn't forgotten about that incident at the College of Winterhold, even if no one had mentioned it to Valsirenn. Their habit of freezing time just to chat with her had been disconcerting. Stupid Psijics and their bullshit time freeze ability. She wished _she_ could do that, but they'd given her a firm "no" when she asked if they could teach her.

Tiglah lowered her voice. "This one must ask, do you know where she can find a reliable fence?"

Raz cocked his head at her in amusement. "Ah, you wound me! You think that just because Raz is Khajiit, that he knows all about engaging in criminal activity?"

Tiglah rolled her eyes. "You're well suited to playing coy, but this one really needs to know who she can trust in a strange land, and you're all she has right now."

"You have good taste," Raz said.

"You were literally the first person Tiglah saw."

"And you did not run screaming!" Raz replied. "Ah, Raz will tell you who you can speak to. But," he held up a claw. "There's one more thing you can do for Raz."

"Who does this one need to stab?" Tiglah asked.

"No stabbing this time," Raz said, then quickly amended, "Well, probably no stabbing. Raz does know how badly dinner parties can go sometimes, but do try not to stab anyone important."

"Dinner parties?" Tiglah groaned. "Why can't you do this yourself?"

"Raz does not entirely get along with the Kinlady and it would be best if he were to stay out of sight. Besides, you are certain to find out more than Raz could, like you did with the information gathering around town! People can let down their guard around you, while everyone tries to behave around Raz."

"Why, are they afraid of you or something?" Tiglah wondered.

"Did you not know? Raz is an Eye of the Queen."

"Oh," Tiglah said dumbly. "Should this one have known that? Would it help to say Tiglah does not even know the Queen's name?"

"Perish the thought!" Raz said in exaggerated shock. "You do not know of Queen Ayrenn, ruler of the Aldmeri Dominion?"

"Tiglah could pretend if it would make you feel better, but she is afraid not. Up until this week, Tiglah was in Skyrim. She could not resist the opportunity to see Summerset for herself, though."

Difficult to resist when she was here before she even knew what was happening.

"Ah!" Raz exclaimed. "That would be why you were sunbathing in your smallclothes when those creatures attacked. Raz would imagine whatever you were wearing would have been too warm for Summerset, anyway."

"So, yes. Tiglah has been up to her whiskers in Jarls and Thanes, but she knows nothing of Aldarchs or Kinladies and alas, she has not seen your Queen."

Tiglah decided it was best to keep quiet on her thoughts about the Thalmor outlawing the worship of Talos. Not to mention just how many Thalmor she had killed, for that matter. She'd never understood why the elves were so upset about the humans worshipping one particular god, when gods and worship varied widely across Tamriel regardless. They hadn't seen fit to invade Morrowind to stamp out Daedra worship, so why Talos? Ah, but these were thoughts definitely best keep from the Queen's Eye here.

"Raz is certain you will do fine."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Tiglah does not know why she keeps letting you talk her into these things. Fine. Send the Khajiit who knows even less about what's going on than usual to hobnob with the snob elves."

"Ah, you just can't say no to this handsome face," Raz said.

* * *

The dinner party was exactly as tedious and pointless as Tiglah had anticipated. No one wanted her there, and she didn't want to be there. Was she really just getting suckered in by a handsome face? When Kinlady Avinisse went inside away from the guests for a bit, Tiglah slipped in after her to take the opportunity to speak with her in private, and damn subtlety.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" Avinisse demanded.

"Tiglah had an invitation," Tiglah replied calmly. "Not that it matters." She might as well just give her name, seeing as no one here knew her anyway. "Are you aware of what the Aldarch has been doing to the newcomers?"

"He's been sequestering them to test them for their suitability for life in Summerset," Avinisse replied. "The ones who fail get sent back to wherever it was they came from."

"So you're not aware that he's a Daedra worshipper and has been murdering them to power sinister rituals."

" _What_?" Avinisse sputtered. "That's preposterous! He came highly recommended… although he doesn't appear to have existed before he was appointed as Aldarch here."

"Tiglah saw it with her own eyes, but you need not take her word for it. Go see for yourself what's been happening in the monastery. This one is certain he hasn't had time to remove the cages and bodies yet."

A courier came in and interrupted their conversation with a message from the Aldarch, asking Avinisse to meet him in the Coral Forest.

"It's a trap," Tiglah said flatly.

Avinisse scowled. "So you say, but I must hear his side of the story."

"He's going to try to kill you," Tiglah said. "Take a bodyguard at least if you must go. Do not trust him, and do not be with him alone."

"How dare you speak to me in such a way!" Avinisse protested. "I am a Kinlady, and you are a mere… Khajiit." She clearly had a less polite term in mind that she'd replaced at the last minute. "Do not presume to give me orders."

Tiglah sighed. She was used to dealing with Jarls and Thanes who didn't have time for the sort of bullshit pleasantries high elves might like.

"This one apologizes if she seems impolite," Tiglah said. "Seeing horrible murders up close not an hour ago has made her quite tense."

Maybe it would have helped had she remembered to try to feign the horror a normal person might have been feeling at seeing what she had. After every stupid thing she'd seen in Skyrim, it was no more shocking than the moons rising and setting.

"Well, 'this one' appreciates if you're actually trying to help," Avinisse said. "But kindly get out of my house now."

Tiglah didn't bother to argue. Raz would be very interested in hearing what she'd learned.

* * *

"Do not look directly at Raz, as difficult as that might be," Raz said quietly. "Pretend to be admiring the architecture."

Tiglah definitely did not stare at Raz and his stylish orange mohawk out of the corner of her eye. Had she really already fallen for the first male Khajiit she had seen in years who wasn't trying to sell her something or set her on fire? That was stupid. She hadn't even known him a day.

"The Kinlady didn't seem to know about the Aldarch's plans," Tiglah murmured as if to herself. "She's meeting the Aldarch in the Coral Forest. This one is certain it is a trap."

"Mm, yes, that's most worrying," Raz mused. "Ah, is this your friend approaching?"

"I'm glad I found you," Valsirenn said, coming up behind her. "I just saw the Kinlady slip out the back by herself."

Tiglah sighed. "This one told her not to go alone. She's walking into a trap in the Coral Forest. Where is that?"

"Along the beach south of town," Valsirenn said. "You can't miss it."

"You'd be surprised how often this one has heard those words said of a cave she wound up having to use magic to locate," Tiglah drawled.

"Let us make haste," Raz said. "But we should leave town separately to avoid attracting attention."

"I'll meet you there," Valsirenn said.

The three of them parted ways and left town. Although she trusted something with "forest" in the name probably wasn't hard to find, she still preferred to trust in her Quest Marker spell to get her pointed in the right direction. As it turned out, the large rock-like formations were indeed hard to miss. It didn't take long for her to locate Valsirenn on the edge of the "forest".

After a brief search, Tiglah heard raised voices, and recognized them as the Aldarch and Kinlady even though she couldn't make out what they were saying. It didn't sound like either of them was happy. She caught sight of them in time to see Avinisse running for her life and the Aldarch whose name she still couldn't remember summoning up monsters with another pearl.

"I'll go after the Kinlady," Valsirenn said. "You deal with the Aldarch!" She ran off, leaving Tiglah to face him on her own.

"The Prince of Bargains has grand plans for this world!" exclaimed the Aldarch.

"Clavicus Vile?" Tiglah interjected. "Really, Aldarch?"

"I am no Aldarch. I am the Earl of Clavicus Vile! And you will not interfere!"

"I don't care if you're Barbas' chewtoy," Tiglah said. "You're annoying me."

She didn't bear any particular loyalty to Clavicus Vile, even if he _did_ once give her a cool mask that she liked to creep people out with. Sadly, that mask was back in Skyrim, or she'd have loved to see this mer's reaction to her having it. Most importantly, she was getting paid to take him down, and she was more interested in getting in good with the Psijics than making any terrible bargains.

Of course, she had no weapons or armor, no magic items but an amulet that had no enchantments useful to her, she'd been running around in sunlight all day, and it had been some time since she'd fed. Still, she wasn't about to back down from the fight, and it didn't look like anyone was watching, so she felt free to break out everything she had. Time to see how _he_ liked having his life drained. Tiglah danced and dodged, seemed to be in four places at once as she tagged the Earl and his sea monster pets with spells to hinder them and drain their life and souls.

Once the Earl was down, she went over and whacked the pearl with her claws, and it popped like a bubble.

"Vile," she said to the air. "You really need better servants. Your Earl went down embarrassingly quickly to an unarmed Khajiit."

Tiglah caught up with Valsirenn.

"The Aldarch is dead," Tiglah told her. "Or I should say, the Earl of Clavicus Vile."

"Clavicus Vile," Valsirenn repeated, shaking her head. "His involvement in Summerset's affairs worries me."

"Did you find the Kinlady?" Tiglah asked.

"We captured her," Valsirenn said. "She's in Razum-dar's custody now. I need to report back to Artaeum and inform the Ritemaster of what has transpired here. You should join me there when you're done here."

Tiglah's ears perked up. "You want this one to go to Artaeum? How do you get there?"

"There's a portal in a nearby ruin that only works for those who have been attuned to it," Valsirenn said. "I'll cast a spell to attune you so that you may visit."

Tiglah bounced around from paw to paw. "This is awesome! I've always wanted to see Artaeum!"

Valsirenn chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Well, I hope it doesn't disappoint. It's a beautiful place." She finished her spell. "There. You are now attuned."

Tiglah practically had a skip in her step as she went to meet up with Raz nearby. Aside from winding up on the other side of Nirn nearly naked, this had been a great day. Well. It probably hadn't been great for the people who had gotten murdered in a sinister ritual, but it had been great for _her_. There were exotic lands, daring quests, riveting battles, new allies! Now to just get paid for this, too.

"Tiglah has slain the Earl of Clavicus Vile who was masquerading as the Aldarch."

Kinlady Avinisse groaned. "Aldarch Tilcalar was secretly working for _Clavicus Vile_? How crude!"

"That is one way of putting it," Raz said.

"That was his name?" Tiglah asked.

"You didn't even know his name?" Avinisse said. "Assuming that even _was_ his name."

"Everyone just kept calling him 'the Aldarch' but apparently he wasn't even an Aldarch. Whatever an Aldarch is."

Avinisse sighed. "Do you remember _my_ name?"

"Kinlady Avinisse," Tiglah said. "Whatever a Kinlady is."

"I suppose I shouldn't complain too much about outsiders considering you saved my life and haven't killed me for my foolishness. Do you want to gloat now, and tell me you told me so?"

Tiglah cocked her head. "Tiglah thinks you've gotten the point well enough."

"Where did the Psijic go?" Raz asked.

"Back to Artaeum," Tiglah said. "I'm going to go meet her there and talk to the Ritemaster." She could hardly hold back her excitement.

"You seem so excited you might just hop right out of your paws," Raz said with a grin. "Did you just giggle?"

"It might have been more of a squee."

"At least someone here seems to be having a good time," Avinisse said. "I suppose I'm going to need to throw myself on the mercy of the Proxy Queen."

"Play up being a victim and how he tricked you and tried to kill you, too," Tiglah suggested. "That one always works."

"I suppose looking weak is preferable to looking complicit," Avinisse said. "I just wanted the newcomers to go home. I didn't want anyone to _die_. I'm not a monster."

"Tiglah understands. You have your beautiful island here, all peaceful and quiet. You don't want boisterous Nords to show up to start drunkenly singing 'Ragnar the Red' while swilling your fine elven wines."

Avinisse's face contorted in horror. "That's what I'm going to have to deal with, isn't it."

"Unfortunately, it was an Altmer who brought death and vile creatures to your fair shores, and a pair of Khajiit who stopped him," Tiglah went on.

"The point is not lost on me," Avinisse said.

"Raz will take care of the Kinlady. Before you go meet the Psijics, Raz thinks you need some payment as well, yes?" He handed her a jingling pouch. "Get yourself properly equipped. Wearing pretty clothes is for parties and nudity is for bedrooms."

Tiglah almost choked at his words as she took his coin.

"You would not want to be dressed incorrectly for whatever Raz might need of you next." He winked.

"Ugh, like I need to watch cats flirting," Avinisse muttered quietly. "Disgusting."

Tiglah ignored her. "Tiglah will be sure to be ready for anything you might need. But next time she will take the sewers while you do the dinner party."

"Nonsense!" Raz exclaimed. "We can suffer together!"

* * *

Valsirenn hadn't mentioned _which_ ruins contained the portal leading to Artaeum. As it turned out, Summerset had quite a lot of ruins. Tiglah counted at least three visible just from where she was standing. No matter. She cast a Quest Marker spell to locate the correct one, and headed through the portal inside.

The first thing she noticed was the sky, stretching out over the land sparkling like a pink crystal dome. The land itself otherwise resembled Summerset, with its bright flowers and white limestone, but there was a distinct lack of aggressive salamanders, winged snakes, and annoying imps on this side of the portal. Tiglah had not imagined that it would be this beautiful. She hadn't even realized that she could still appreciate beauty.

Beyond the trees and down by the water, a massive tower spired into the shimmering sky. It didn't look like any sort of architecture she was familiar with, unlike the high elven cities on Summerset. She made her way toward it, in no particular hurry about it. The constant itch of daylight had been lifted, apparently indicating that whatever lighting up Artaeum's sky was not the normal sun of Nirn. So she could explore the cobbled pathways and lily-strewn ponds in peace.

As she approached the tower, she spotted Valsirenn beneath it speaking with another high elf. And beneath it indeed, the tower itself left a large arch underneath it, with entry most likely granted by the shimmering pool they were standing by. A portal or levitation pad, Tiglah presumed.

"Ah, is this your new friend approaching now?" asked the male high elf, to which Valsirenn nodded to the affirmative.

"Tiglah hopes she did not keep you waiting. She needed a moment to wind down after a rather stressful day, and your lily ponds are quite lovely."

"Quite understandable. I am Iachesis, Ritemaster of the Psijic Order, and I bid you welcome to our fair island. Very few outside of our order have ever seen it."

"Tiglah feels quite privileged and is thrilled to be here."

She wondered if she would run across any of the Psijics who had visited the College of Winterhold. Unfortunately, she couldn't actually remember any of their names, and didn't even want to ask about the Eye of Magnus. Best let that one lie. There were other matters at hand right now. She wasn't sure she _wanted_ to know what they'd done with that thing, after it had almost destroyed the College. Admittedly, a lot of that had been the fault of that Thalmor idiot.

"We'll be studying the pearl Valsirenn sent us and doing divinations on it in hopes of determining information on where it came from and how to proceed," Iachesis was saying. "I'll contact you when we have something to go on. In the meantime, feel free to explore our island and the Ceporah Tower." He gestured to the structure above them. "Valsirenn tells me that you are a mage? You might be interested in speaking with our Loremaster as well."

"Thank you," Tiglah said, then examined the pool of not-water beneath the tower. "How do I…?"

"Get up into the tower?" Iachesis asked. "Just step into the 'pool' and look up."

Tiglah thanked him again and did as instructed, and found herself transported with a rippling sound. The interior of the tower was brightly lit by floating blue globes, leaving her wishing she'd had some of _those_ on hand when she was attempting to decorate her home in Windhelm.

"Pardon me," Tiglah said, approaching an Altmer who was standing around reading a book that was floating in the air in front of him. "Could you tell Tiglah where she can find the Loremaster?"

"You're speaking to him." With a wave of his hand, the book floated off to the side, still partially open and keeping his place. "Loremaster Celarus. A pleasure to meet you. Tiglah, was it? I don't believe I've seen you here before."

"Tiglah just arrived here from Summerset. Valsirenn invited her here. The Ritemaster suggested that she may wish to speak with you."

"Ah!" Celarus said. "Welcome then, indeed. You would be interested in joining our order, then?"

"Could I?" Tiglah asked with a bit of surprise.

"Is that not why you were invited here?" Celarus asked.

"There was an incident on Summerset but… well, never mind, yes, Tiglah is most interested in joining your order! This one is a mage but she did not realize she was even eligible."

"Because you are a Khajiit?" Celarus asked. "Don't worry. While many of us here are Altmer, we accept members of any race who are willing to study the Old Ways and dedicate themselves to doing good."

"Um… yes, this one _always_ tries to do good," Tiglah lied. "What must Tiglah do in order to join?"

Proofs of magical or martial prowess were typical, after all. Or musical, in the case of that one time she attempted to join the Bard's College in Solitude. Fortunately they didn't hold it against her too much that she clearly was meant for combat and dungeon delving rather than singing, and just politely gave her an honorable mention on the condition that she never attempt to sing in their presence again.

"Are you an adventurous sort?" Celarus asked. "Do you enjoy traveling? I have a task that needs to be accomplished, but it will require quite a bit of traveling, and we Psijics tend not to get out much and interact with the world."

"Yes, this one considers herself to be an adventurer," Tiglah said. "She will probably be doing a good deal of traveling regardless."

"Excellent," Celarus said. "We've detected a number of time breaches appearing across Tamriel, and we need someone to go seal them before they cause any serious damage."

Tiglah was very, very quiet for a long moment. "Time breaches, you say."

"Yes, they are very concerning," Celarus said. "They could—"

"Loremaster," Tiglah interrupted. "Pardon this one a potentially stupid question, but… what year is it?"

"It's year 582 of the Second Era."

Tiglah put her face in her paws. "Shit."

"Excuse me?" Celarus said.

"Skeeving, fetching, milk-drinking skeever dung, and no, I don't care if that string of expletives makes no sense." Tiglah was too stunned to even bother caring about maintaining the Khajiit accent, and had readily slipped back into talking like a Nord.

Celarus looked at her in concern. "I take it that was not the answer you were expecting."

"Yes, well, the last I knew, it was year 201… of the _Fourth_ Era."

"Ah. I see."

"I was in Skyrim," Tiglah went on. "I was a member of the College of Winterhold."

"That would explain the accent, but perhaps it's best that you do not say too much about the future," Celarus said.

"What does it even matter?" Tiglah grumbled.

"You should be careful not to affect too much while you're in this time," Celarus went on. "Maybe it would be best if you remained on the island until you 'catch up' to the time you're supposed to be in."

"I've _already_ affected things," Tiglah replied. "Who knows what would have happened in Shimmerene had I not been there? Many people could have died. Valsirenn might not have been able to kill the Earl of Clavicus Vile on her own. Razum-dar might have run into trouble on his intelligence mission."

"If you have knowledge of events in this era, it could influence the course of history."

Tiglah shook her head. "I don't know anything."

"Not of the threat to Summerset?" Celarus asked. "Not even of the Planemeld?"

"The what now?" Tiglah wondered.

"Were there no books in the Fourth Era about the Planemeld? Or the Three Banners War between the Aldmeri Dominion, the Ebonheart Pact, and the Daggerfall Covenant?"

"I've never heard most of these names before," Tiglah said. "I've read a _lot_ of books, but I couldn't even tell you any major events that would have happened around the year 582. The Reman Dynasty rose and fell, there was the Akaviri Potentate, then there was an interregnum with vague mentions of a span of insurrections and misrules. Nothing among that apparently even stood out as mentioning in specific. Hmm, let's see, what else, the Knahaten Flu? Yes, you've already had the Knahaten Flu, I'm sure."

Celarus frowned. "If the Akaviri Potentate and the Knahaten Flu were mentioned in your history books but not the Planemeld or the Three Banners War, it's possible you're not even in the same timeline any longer."

"A Dragon Break?" Tiglah mused.

"It could be. If current major events apparently don't even warrant a stray footnote in your history books, perhaps they didn't actually happen in your world. It _would_ mean you would not need to be too worried about affecting the timeline, since it was already different before you arrived, and that waiting here would not take you back to the same world you started in."

Tiglah sighed. "So I'm stuck here."

"If these time breaches were sealed, we might be able to gather enough information from them to get you back home."

"Or that might keep me from ever being able to get back home," Tiglah said. "Could the same breach that brought me here take me back, maybe?"

"I don't know, but it seems unlikely," Celarus said. "They seem to be very unstable."

"It's worth a shot though, right?" Tiglah asked, though there wasn't much hope in her voice.

"There's no telling where or when you might wind up, though."

What did she even have worth going back to in Skyrim, in the Fourth Era? A pile of junk she didn't really need, an overpriced house, titles she didn't want, and people who hated her? Was it really worth the risk of trying? This place was full of opportunity. She could get a fresh start, and maybe not make the same mistakes that had caused her so much trouble before.

And Raz was here. She didn't know if it was possible for that to go anywhere, but she wanted to find out. It was worth the chance.

"Fine," Tiglah finally said. "I will stay in this time, then. But I'm not staying on this island. From the sounds of things, there is much to do out there, not the least of which sealing these time breaches so no more hapless Khajiit find themselves lost in time."

"Very well," Celarus said. "Speak with Josajeh—" He pointed. "Second room on the left. She'll have materials to get you started."


	2. Soul Shriven in Coldharbour

Josajeh turned out to be a young Redguard woman with her nose just as deep into a book as Celarus had been. She seemed quite surprised when Tiglah explained what she was there for.

"You're new to the Order?" Josajeh asked. "No wonder. I didn't think anyone was going to get around to doing this until it became too late to ignore. The older members are pretty averse to actually leaving the island and interacting with the world."

"It seems strange. Tiglah cannot imagine staying in one place for centuries on end."

"You should see our libraries, though." Josajeh chuckled. "You could probably spend centuries just to scratch the surface on them."

"Sounds fascinating, though there's only so much reading one can do at once."

Tiglah wondered just how much she should tell anyone of where and when she was from. The where would have been more innocent before she knew that the Skyrim that existed in this time was not the same as the Skyrim she remembered. She wanted to visit her homeland again sometime soon, but it would be like visiting someplace that was just different enough to throw her off, she imagined.

And that was _her homeland_ , not Elsweyr. Born and raised in Riften, the only Khajiit at the Honorhall Orphanage. The Stormcloaks had seemed like an unlikely fit for a Khajiit mage, but she hadn't hesitated to sign up. _Why does a cat want to fight for Skyrim's freedom?_ Ulfric's general had asked her, and she had just as fiercely told her that this was _her_ home too. She'd never even been to Elsweyr. But maybe it was a good time to take the opportunity to do so. If these time breaches were as widespread as Celarus implied, she might just have plenty of opportunity to see parts of Tamriel she'd never envisioned visiting before.

Josajeh pulled out a stack of rune-covered seals. "You'll need these to patch up those time breaches. They're so easy to use you wouldn't even need to be a mage. Just approach a breach and hold one up near it, and the enchantments in the seal will do the rest."

"And how does this one detect them?" Tiglah asked.

"Yeah, about that…" Josajeh looked about sheepishly. "Most mortals can't detect fluctuations in the fabric of time. I was supposed to use the Augur of the Obscure for it. But it tricked me and vanished. I know where it is, but I hadn't had time to go retrieve it yet."

"It tricked you?" Tiglah wondered. "So this is an intelligent being?"

"Oh, yes, very intelligent," Josajeh agreed. "And very sneaky, at times. It's bound to answer any direct question truthfully, but it'll otherwise go to no ends to deceive and mislead you. Well. I guess I'm putting that a bit badly. It's not _evil_ , exactly. Just mischievous."

"I see," Tiglah said, raising an eyebrow. "So where is it, then?"

"Wasten Coraldale," Josajeh explained. "That's a small island off the west coast of Summerset. You should be able to find a boat that can get you there near the docks of Alinor."

Tiglah nodded. "Very well. Tiglah will go retrieve the Augur, then."

"Take this map, too. We haven't been able to pinpoint the precise locations of the breaches, but these should get you to the approximate locations. Once you're close enough, use the Augur to narrow it down."

Tiglah took a look at the map, and found to no surprise that there was indeed a breach just outside the city of Shimmerene.

"That's where I came through," Tiglah murmured, poking it with a claw.

"Excuse me?" Josajeh asked.

"Tiglah came through a time breach." She figured she might as well tell Josajeh, at any rate. "Celarus does not believe Tiglah came from the same timeline as this. So Tiglah's future is not your future… and won't be Tiglah's future again, either, most likely."

"Oh…" Josajeh frowned.

"It's alright. I miss it less than you'd imagine." Tiglah shook her head. "And no, before you ask, this one knows nothing about events in this time. That was how we came to the conclusion that Tiglah isn't from the future of this timeline. Probably means I can say what I like about my 'future', too, since it's unlikely any of it will happen in a thousand years, and probably won't matter if something similar happens anyway. Not sure why anyone would care, though."

"I'd imagine a lot of people would like to know what might happen in a thousand years," Josajeh said. "Like what happens to Hammerfell."

Tiglah cocked her head. "Hammerfell seceded from the Tamrielic Empire following the White-Gold Concordat. They continued to war with the Aldmeri Dominion for several more years. Politics and war. Pfth."

Josajeh stared at her. "I generally expect prophecies to be a touch less precise."

Tiglah chuckled. "Because it's not a prophecy. It's events I actually lived." She went over and looked down a row of books floating in the air, casually browsing their titles. "There was a Redguard girl in the orphanage I grew up in. Aisha. She wasn't really an orphan, mind you. Her parents had left her there in hopes of keeping her as far from the fighting as possible and still be in human lands. She eagerly awaited every scrap of news coming out of Hammerfell. After Taneth fell, we assumed the worst for her parents. Aisha was inconsolable for months. And then one night, her mother returned for her and took her away. Never saw her again. She'd been my best friend once, and she never wrote or visited. I hope she wasn't killed. I later helped a group of Alik'r warriors track down a woman who had betrayed the city of Taneth to the Dominion. Nasty business, that."

"I'm… I'm sorry, I don't know what to say," Josajeh stammered quietly. "Do you hope to be able to prevent some of the unfortunate events you've seen?"

"I don't think it's relevant," Tiglah said. "It's going to be centuries before any major events I know about _might_ happen."

The Oblivion Crisis? The Red Year? The Great War? These were all events that some people finding themselves in the past might be champing at the bit to prevent. But not only would they be hundreds of years from now, she wouldn't even know where to begin. One person was unlikely to untangle the mess that was the Great War. The Oblivion Crisis had been bad, but it had been taken care of admirably. Stopping the Red Year would probably have just required god-level levitation or teleportation skills in order to keep a small moon from crashing into a volcano. That would be comparatively simple to take care of if she wanted to put the time and effort into figuring out a way to do it. But still, it was far enough out and she had enough other things to deal with in the meantime that it wasn't really worth much pondering at the moment.

"So how different _is_ your timeline?" Josajeh asked.

"The Daggerfall Covenant and Ebonheart Pact never existed," Tiglah said. "And the Planemeld never happened." Whatever that was.

"Oh," Josajeh said. "I guess that would have made things better, then."

"I don't know," Tiglah said. "Sometimes, it's hard to say. Hard to say how the end result would have played out, and for who. I'm sure anyone who died during this Three Banners War would have been happy to know that in my timeline, they died from the Knahaten Flu instead." Tiglah made a helpless gesture.

"I guess you've got a point," Josajeh admitted. "It's not simple."

"How far is it to Alinor from the portal to Artaeum?" Tiglah asked. "I should probably get going."

* * *

Tiglah traveled at night. She found herself missing Skyrim's auroras, but seeing two waxing moons in the sky was always a comfort. She'd also traded in Skyrim's hungry bears and sabre cats for teleporting magic deer that shot lightning around. Someone at one of the towns she passed through called them indriks. Majestic creatures, they said. She'd immediately hated the things and found herself wishing for the bears back.

Once she arrived in Alinor, she made her way to an inn called the Golden Gryphon looking to rent a room for the day. She wanted to rest and make some preparations before making a trip to Wasten Coraldale, and a flier outside had indicated that there were rooms available. She took it and cast a Quest Marker spell to locate the person she needed to ask about it.

"Pardon Khajiit, but are you the one she is to speak to about renting a room?" Tiglah asked the Breton woman that her spell had pointed her to.

"Yes, I am Felande Demarie." She gave Tiglah a critical look. "Yes, you've got that look about you."

"Excuse me?"

"No, no, nothing bad!" Felande raised her hands. "I mean, you have the look of an upstanding adventurer! My gut tells me that you're just the sort of tenant I'm looking for."

"If you say so," Tiglah said dubiously. "How much is the room?"

"Oh, I'm not actually asking for anything," Felande said. "I just think that you're just the thing to freshen up my image, give me a good reputation, and perhaps buy a rug to put over those bloodstains that are never coming out. And if you know how to get the smell of skooma out of wood, that would be wonderful."

"Ah." Tiglah chuckled. "I see. That sort of arrangement."

"The room would be yours to do with as you please, within reason. So long as it's legal, that is. If you're looking for someplace to turn into a skooma den or outlaw's refuge, I'd recommend you go find some caves or ruins somewhere and _not_ do it in my inn. And _please_ don't put in any shrines to Molag Bal. Or any of the other Daedra for that matter, but especially not Molag Bal."

"This one definitely does not worship Molag Bal," Tiglah lied quickly.

"But yes, aside from that, do what you like," Felande went on. "Set up an alchemy table or a cooking pot, hang paintings or trophies, house your pets, and keep your belongings safe while you go off on adventures."

"Alright. Sounds good. Tiglah will take the room. Which one is it?"

Felande handed her a key, practically shoving it into her hand. "Top floor, in the far corner."

Tiglah ascended the stairs to find the most inconveniently located room in the entire building. Once she stepped inside, lingering purple smoke assaulted her nostrils and stung her eyes. Blinking, she crossed the room to open the window, stepping over broken furniture along the way. No wonder the room had been free. Anything she might do to this place could only be an improvement. All this furniture was just going to need to be replaced. She could only imagine that Felande hadn't done so already because it would have been a pain.

So, she spent the day renovating. She took the items that couldn't be repaired and sold them for scrap materials, and patched up the ones that looked like they could still be salvaged. The bed was a lost cause, and while she didn't sleep, herself, she felt that she ought to keep a bed in the room to give the impression that she did. She found a cheap one for sale in the marketplace and hauled it back upstairs. Before heading out to do more shopping, she shoved her amulet of Talos under the mattress. While she doubted the Thalmor in this time were as vehemently against Talos as they were in the Fourth Era, she still didn't see a need to be carrying it around in Aldmeri Dominion territory. Of all the souvenirs she could have brought back from her own time, why had it been that one that came along for the ride?

While she was shopping for rugs and a new dresser, a hooded figure approached her. "Excuse me. I believe you are the one I seek."

Tiglah looked up to see an unassuming Breton woman. "What's this about?"

"My benefactor wishes to speak with you about a matter that could affect the fate of the world," the hooded figure replied.

"Hmh, very mysterious," Tiglah said. "And I assume that you're mysteriously not going to be forthcoming with more information?"

"I'm afraid not," the woman said.

Upon giving directions to a place down by the docks, the hooded figure wandered off and vanished into the crowds. While continuing to shop, Tiglah's mind wandered as well, attempting to guess who this 'benefactor' might be. Was it Razum-dar trying to contact her again? Psijic business, maybe? Something else entirely? Actually, come to think, something about that woman smelled Daedric. Tiglah had had dealings with many of the Princes in her time, earned the fleeting respect of some of them, and generally tried to at least not piss them off.

After delivering a carpet and a new dresser back up the stairs again, and being grateful for vampiric endurance, Tiglah went and purchased some leather armor, a bow, and a sword. It wasn't the best quality, but she'd make do with it for the moment until she could craft something of her own. The main limit to her budget at the moment was how much she could get away with fencing at once. Still, it was better than nothing. There would almost certainly be fighting tonight.

The hooded figure's directions, and Tiglah's Quest Marker, led her down to a warehouse by the docks. Just the sort of place to have a discreet midnight meeting with only Jone and Jode hanging in the sky as witnesses.

When she got inside, she found a man behind a stack of crates, tied up and gagged. His eyes widened when he saw her and he shook his head vigorously, mumbling through his gag. Tiglah rushed up and went to remove his gag and untie him, but with her attention on the man, she'd left herself open. Her muscles froze as she felt a spell creep over her like a spiderweb, and with a sharp blow to the head, she passed out.

* * *

Stupid, stupid, stupid. As Tiglah came to, she berated herself for falling for the obvious trap. Her magicka bound like a slave, she found herself chained and dragged along with a string of other people. Their heads lolling and their eyes half-closed, none of them seemed particularly aware of where they were or what was going on. Had they been, she imagined they'd be screaming and struggling. Perhaps it had been her vampiric constitution that had roused her to full consciousness. Not that it helped her all that much, without any magicka available for her to use. As it was, even her physical strength had failed her and she was still having trouble remaining conscious. With blurry vision, she saw herself dragged into a room behind the line of captives.

The charged Daedric energy in the room felt familiar, and the iconography in the room pointed to Molag Bal. A robed Altmer held a ritual dagger and a large soul gem in his hands. At the front of the line, one of the captives was shoved unceremoniously onto an altar, where the elf stabbed him in the chest and ripped out his soul.

Tiglah had filled many soul gems in her day, with animals and intelligent beings alike. She'd even fought some guy inside of one once. This, though? This had to be some mistake. Fear welled up inside of her.

"Wait!" she cried out, her throat hoarse and her tongue thick and sluggish. "I'm… I'm a cultist! I worship Molag Bal!"

The Altmer gave her a contemptuous look like she were nothing more than a worm. "Then be honored you can serve your god in this manner. You will meet him soon."

Not even the faithful were to be spared, it seemed. It was her turn for the altar. This couldn't be happening. Had she really come back in time just to die like this?

The dagger went into her chest, and her very soul cried out in pain.

* * *

She woke, if you could call it waking. She wasn't sure where she was at first, as it would not be the first time she'd woken up somewhere unfamiliar. And then it hit her, like a chill sinking into her bones. Coldharbour. The realm of Molag Bal.

She was dead, then? She was really dead. She'd always known this was where her soul was destined, if anyone actually managed to kill her, but she'd never expected it to be like _this_. She'd expected some sort of epic battle. Maybe with a dragon or something, not that she'd ever seen a living dragon, but she imagined that they might come back to life just to try to kill her. This, though? She hadn't even gotten a fight in. They'd bespelled her in an ambush then sacrificed her to _her own god_. The insult cut deeper than any blade.

At least she was more clear-headed now, for what that was worth. She looked around and took in her bleak surroundings, a world that seemed to be made of icy steel claws. Everything had jagged edges, even things with no practical purpose to having jagged edges. What's more, a barred door locked her into one small room. What was even the point in _that_? Wasn't her just being here enough of a prison in and of itself?

A Nord woman stopped outside her cell. "You look more lively than most in here. Are you alright?"

Tiglah had had enough. "I just got ambushed, captured, murdered and sacrificed to my own god. Do you _think_ I'm alright? Don't I get the slightest bit of consideration? What was any of this even for? Argh!" She put her face in a paw and tried to calm herself down a bit. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that you got killed too, and didn't get to go to Sovngarde."

"Me? No, I appreciate the thought, but I'm still alive. The name's Lyris. Let me get you out of there."

Lyris got the door open and Tiglah came out. Her… body, she supposed she might as well call it, felt all wrong. Her joints were stiff and her muscles felt flabby, and she was clad in rags rather than the nice new leather armor that she'd just bought. Was this even really a body? She vaguely recalled reading something about the manifestations of souls in Oblivion, but her mind was still a bit muddled.

"You sound like you've still got some fight left in you, at least," Lyris said. "We're going to need it."

"Why did you come here if you're still alive?" Tiglah asked.

"I came here to rescue someone who is being held prisoner," Lyris explained. "If you're willing to help, we can probably get you out of here and back to Nirn yourself."

"I'll do what I can," Tiglah said. "I don't exactly have any better options right now."

"We'll need to move quickly, then."

At this point, Tiglah was definitely reconsidering her choice of religion. Along the way, they passed by people, human and not Daedra, with blank eyes and blank expressions. She might be just as dead as them, but they looked like they'd had all the will worn out of them. Only a few of them looked like they might still even remember their own names.

Tiglah had never thought too hard before about where exactly she'd been sending the souls she'd killed in the name of the God of Schemes.

The translucent image of an old robed man appeared before them, whom Lyris identified as someone called the Prophet. "Greetings, Vestige," he said. "Like you, I am a prisoner in this place. You must rescue me, and I in turn must rescue you." He promptly vanished.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Lyris told her.

"Not really," Tiglah said. "I do not even slightly feel like standing around chatting right now. Normally I might be bristling with them." She shook her head. "Just tell me which way to go. I'm in a hurry to get out of here."

Lyris gave directions, and led the way into battle against any Daedra that got in the way. Tiglah's soul magic completely failed to come to her, and even her frost magic was weak as a spring breeze in Riften. She wound up clawing a churl to death.

"You sure are good to have in a fight," Lyris said.

Tiglah curled up her lips. "I'd like to see _you_ do better after getting murdered."

"Whoa, I didn't mean that sarcastically, sorry."

"You think I'm still able to hold my own here?" Tiglah said. "I guess I should be flattered, but just a few days ago by my perspective, minus however much time I spent dead or unconscious, I killed the Earl of Clavicus Vile by myself, unarmed and as good as naked. I wouldn't last five seconds in that fight as I am right now."

"Can you use a weapon?" Lyris asked. "If your magic isn't working as well as you're used to, maybe a sword or bow would work better for now."

"Yeah, probably best." Tiglah located a bow and tested the pull. "Like old times. I started my adventuring career with a bow."

She chuckled softly, crouched down for a moment and sniped at a Dremora. The arrow buried itself cleanly in the Daedra's shoulder and knocked it to the ground, leaving it wide open for Lyris' sword.

"Back in those days, I couldn't hit a moving target for crap, so my main strategy was to sneak through bandit-infested ruins making sure none of them _noticed_ me long enough to stick an arrow in them."

Chatting about bandits while killing Daedra at least kept her mind focused and kept her from thinking too hard about how pissed off she was at Molag Bal and that Altmer who had sacrificed her. _She_ should have been the one doing the sacrifices.

"Naturally, the first sort of magic I learned was to hide myself better and to detect enemies before they detected me," Tiglah went on.

"I keep having to glance back at you to check that you still have a tail," Lyris said. "No offense, I've just never heard a Khajiit with a Skyrim accent before."

"I'm from Riften," Tiglah said. "Normally when traveling and not hiding my tail, I put on a Khajiit accent, but I _really_ don't feel like bothering right now."

"I understand completely," Lyris said. "How did a Khajiit like you wind up falling in with the Lord of Brutality?"

"He locked me in a room with this Stendarr worshipping guy and forced us to kill each other," Tiglah said. "Obviously, I won. Things just kind of… went from there."

"You reconsidering all that now, having seen all this up close and personal?" Lyris asked.

"Absolutely reconsidering!" Tiglah agreed, firing another arrow at a Dremora charging toward them.

Following the directions of a peculiar fellow with a pot on his head, they made their way to where the Prophet was being held. The old man, his face still somehow bare, hung suspended in a globe of energy. Tiglah had to wonder how he managed to do magic and project himself from inside something like that. Apparently it wasn't stopping him, whatever it was.

"To get him out of there, we'll need to make an exchange," Lyris explained.

"Is that why you brought me?" Tiglah wondered, frowning.

"What? No. You're dead, and this will only work with a living person. You wouldn't be able to do this even if you volunteered for it. No, I'll take his place. It'll be up to you to get him to safety."

"You're trusting me with a lot here," Tiglah said.

"I have faith in you," Lyris said. "The Prophet… saw visions of you. He seems to believe you're the one, and I'll take his word on it."

"As you say. I'll do my best. Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'm going to be," Lyris said.

After manipulating some of Coldharbour's strange mechanisms and fighting off a few more Daedra, the young woman and the old man switched places, passing straight through one another in the air.

"Freedom!" the old man exclaimed. "How I'd almost forgotten its sweet taste."

"You know, that woman just gave us hers so you could have yours," Tiglah said. "I hope this is worth it. I promised her I'd guide you safely out of here, but you're going to have to give me a hint because I have no idea where I'm going."

"Let us move quickly, then, Vestige. We must head up the stairs and toward the anchor mooring."

"Uh, my name is Tiglah, not Vestige," Tiglah commented. "If you were looking for someone named Vestige, I'm afraid you've got the wrong person."

"No, Vestige is what I've named you, because you are but a fragment of your former self."

Tiglah rolled her eyes. "If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to be called Tiglah."

"We can discuss it later. For now, we must be gone from here before the Lord of Coldharbour turns his gaze upon us," the old man said.

"Sure, can't argue with that," Tiglah said.

They hurried along, and after another stretch of corridor, they came to a room where it looked like _literal_ anchors and chains were trailing off to… somewhere. Tiglah had assumed he meant that in a more metaphorical sense.

"Before you can return to Nirn, you must absorb the Aetherial energy from a Skyshard," the Prophet said. "That will allow you to manifest in the physical realm. I will call one down for you."

After the old man called out for Akatosh, Dragon God of Time, to grant them his blessing, a large chunk of crystal slammed into the ground at his feet. Tiglah was impressed at how prompt and accurate Akatosh's aim was, although she had to wonder if it had actually been Akatosh doing anything at all. She'd encountered plenty of priests who claimed divine providence in their powers but who just used the same ordinary magic everyone else used. Admittedly, she didn't know of any spells that could do anything like that. Conjuration that targeted Aetherius rather than Oblivion, maybe?

Either way, at the old man's direction, Tiglah approached the glowing crystal and felt energy rushing into her. When it was done, she felt… _better_ , if not whole again.

With another incantation to Akatosh, the Prophet beckoned her to jump. Seeing no better options, Tiglah leapt into the span between the chains and found herself falling upwards into nothingness.

* * *

Tiglah would like to say that this hadn't been the second time this week she'd falling out of a rift into the ocean. If it was any consolation, she couldn't be entirely certain that it had been less than a week. It was difficult to say how long she'd remained unconscious or dead, after all, and she hadn't had a close look at any calendars lately anyway. Suffice it to say, though, that when she washed up on the tropical beach, she was at least glad that it _wasn't_ Coldharbour.

An image of the Prophet appeared before her. "Ah, good, you've arrived safely on Nirn, Vestige."

Tiglah grumbled. "Not to complain about that, but I've told you, my name is Tiglah. Maybe I should begin every sentence with it like most Khajiit do so people will remember."

The Prophet ignored her. "As I feared, Vestige, we were separated when we left Oblivion and are now in different locations. I am in the land of the high elves, amidst the smell of flowers and sea breezes."

"Tiglah is not sure where she is yet, exactly, but judging by the climate, I am still somewhere in the south of Tamriel."

"Good. Where you go from here is up to you," the Prophet replied. "You must make your own choices, Vestige. I cannot guide you every step of the way."

Tiglah sighed. "You have no idea who I even am."

"Nor you I," the Prophet said. "Be that as it may, the world is in great peril, and you may find ways to help, and people who will aid you in your journey."

"Before I was captured and murdered, I'd just joined the Psijic Order," Tiglah said. "They'd detected…" She swallowed her words. "Time breaches. I'd come through a time breach. I'm not even supposed to be in this time."

"You may belong here more than you realize," the Prophet said. "I've seen you in my visions, Vestige. And I have indeed seen you wearing Psijic robes. And some sort of armor I don't recognize that seems to be made of … shells?" He shook his head. "You'll figure it out when you get to it, I'm certain."

"The Psijics sent me to travel Tamriel and seal the time breaches," Tiglah said. "But I'm so weak now, like a mewling ja'Khajiit that hasn't even been weaned off her mother's milk yet."

"Search for Skyshards like the one I called before during your travels across Tamriel," the Prophet said. "They will help to reinforce your connection to Nirn and strengthen your body and powers."

Tiglah nodded. "Noted. I'll keep an eye out. They seemed _very_ shiny and difficult to miss."

She stood up slowly and brushed sand out of her fur. She was hardly about to sit around whining when there was work to be done, no matter how terrible she felt about absolutely everything. Maybe this really _was_ a chance to start over and do things right? She had no idea.

"As for me, I must recover my strength and consider what needs to be done," the Prophet said. "I have no intention of leaving Lyris to torment at the hands of the God of Brutality for my sake."

"Let me know if I can help, once you figure something out," Tiglah said. "I liked her."

Truth be told, she liked Nords in general. She was already starting to miss Skyrim, and she feared it might be a while before she'd get to see it again.

"She is a good woman with a stout heart. I will contact you again once I'm ready, Vestige. Safe travels." With that, the translucent image faded into nothingness.

Tiglah sighed again. Here she was, in rags again, and broke, and this time without even her legendary magical prowess and combat skills to back her up. No sense in whining about it, though. She spotted a city in the distance and made her way toward it. Populated by high elves, but unfamiliar. Not Shimmerene or Alinor. More members of other races mixed in amongst the Altmer, including enough Khajiit that she didn't get a second glance. She decided it would be best to case the place and, more importantly, figure out where she was before she started robbing everyone blind.

In the center of town was a wayshrine, an empty brazier under a small gazebo. She went into it and took a seat inside to think for a bit. She'd seen little shrines like this in the other cities she'd visited in this era, as well a few of them scattered across the countryside. With a touch of magicka, she lit a fire in the brazier. At least she could still get a simple fire spell off.

Firstly, she needed to get back to Artaeum for more seals before she could go sealing any time breaches. With all the traveling she was going to need to be doing, teleportation magic would be preferable. Some mages made it look so easy to just snap their fingers and open a portal anywhere. It hadn't been easy for her even when she _was_ a legendary mage. Although the Thieves Guild in Riften got used to her appearing out of nowhere, paws full of stolen goods. She doubted her mark in the Ragged Flagon was still valid in the Second Era. She doubted there was even a Ragged Flagon there yet.

Wayshrines, though… She'd read an obscure book theorizing that they could be used as a teleport network, much like temples were used as anchors for Intervention spells. It hadn't been a practical avenue of research since using them would require one's soul to be "unmoored from Mundus", whatever that meant. Well, she was feeling pretty unmoored right now. It was worth a shot, right? What's the worst that could happen? She'd wind up back in Coldharbour to be tortured for eternity? Maybe best not to think of "what's the worst that could happen"…

Tiglah thought about how she'd been attuned to Artaeum as well. Would that be enough to target it with a teleportation effect? Before she could even get past willing it to happen, she found herself sitting on the ground in the wayshrine on Artaeum, not even having expended any magicka in the process. Tiglah blinked, standing up slowly. That had been way too easy. She only had to bemoan that she'd had to lose her soul to do it.

She made her way up into Ceporah Tower, and spotted Ritemaster Iachesis on the way in. "Excuse me, Ritemaster? What's the date today?"

"Sixteenth of Sun's Dusk, year 582 of the Second Era," Iachesis replied without missing a beat, as if this were a question he was regularly asked.

"And when did you last see me?" Tiglah asked.

"Two weeks ago," Iachesis said.

"Curse it, I guess I must have missed some time in there anyway, though thankfully not too much of it," Tiglah said. "I only experienced around three days of that."

"Did something happen?" Iachesis asked.

"Well, I got murdered and had to escape from Coldharbour," Tiglah explained. "I don't suppose I could get a new robe? Molag Bal stole my pants. Also my soul."

"That sounds most unfortunate. You look well for dead, at least. Josajeh should be able to set you up with some clothing. Are you alright?"

"No, but I guess I'm as well as can be expected, under the circumstances," Tiglah said. "Have you made any progress in divination with the pearl?"

"Nothing significant," Iachesis said. "It has been strangely resistant to our efforts to pry forth its secrets."

"I'd offer to help, but I'm not sure there's much I can do right now," Tiglah said.

"Thank you for the thought, though," Iachesis said. "Could you retrieve an amplification potion from my apprentice, Oriandra, while you're up? I'm afraid we can't leave the room right now in the middle of our ritual."

Tiglah nodded. "Alright. I'm going to go get those clothes first, though. These rags itch. And I think they might be infested with lice. Ew. _Daedric_ lice."

Iachesis made a face. "We have facilities available if you wish to take a hot bath."

"That sounds amazing right now."


	3. A Pearl of Great Price

Robes weren't typically Tiglah's go-to for choices in attire, but somehow she felt the Psijic robes to be most appropriate right now. And not just because an old man who may or may not be able to see weird things told her so.

Josajeh wasn't upset that she still hadn't retrieved the Augur of the Obscure or that she had to replace the time seals Tiglah had been given. In fact, she seemed _much_ more concerned about Tiglah's recent experiences than Iachesis had been. Spending centuries on an isolated island led to some measure of detachment, Tiglah imagined.

Entirely forgetting about the ritual going on downstairs — downportal? — Tiglah soaked in the tub until the water went cold, and then heated it up again with a quick spell to soak some more. She didn't think she was ever going to feel _clean_ again, but at least it helped. And burning the rags she'd found herself wearing in Coldharbour helped _symbolically_ , at least.

She emerged from the tub finally and toweled herself off to get her fur as dry as she could, and slipped into the new clothes she had been provided. Her new Psijic robes were comfortable, and she was grateful for them having provided them to someone who hadn't even had a chance to do anything for the Order yet. But then she _had_ joined, hadn't she? That was true enough, she supposed.

But she'd also joined the Mages Guild. And the Fighters Guild, for that matter. And she was probably also going to join the Thieves Guild, once she figured out where they holed themselves up these days. And if she ran across the Dark Brotherhood, she might just join them, too, maybe. Which of them did she consider more of her _identity_ , though, and not just a group she was hooking up with for a while just for jobs?

Honestly? That was probably going to be the Psijic Order. So she might as well look the part.

Remembering that there was something else she was supposed to be doing, she went to look for the Ritemaster's apprentice. Considering he was the one who suggested a bath, though, she supposed he couldn't be annoyed at her about it, though.

"Excuse me," Tiglah said upon locating an Imperial woman in the room Ritemaster Iachesis had directed her to. "Are you Oriandra?"

"That's me," Oriandra said. "Are you the new member I've heard talk about? Oh, of course you are, they mentioned a Khajiit and you're the only Khajiit we have at the moment."

Tiglah chuckled. "Yes, that's an astute observation. I haven't seen many Imperials around, either. Though that's a little less distinctive."

"Yes, that's true. I don't have a tail or anything. It's good to see new faces and other races here, though. Some might get the impression that the Psijic Order is only for high elves."

"The Ritemaster sent me up to get an amplification elixir for the ritual they're conducting," Tiglah said.

"Oh! Yes, it's the bottle on the table over there." Oriandra pointed.

Tiglah thanked her and took the potion down to the ritual room.

"Sorry it took so long," Tiglah said as she brought the elixir to Ritemaster Iachesis.

"It's quite alright," Iachesis said. "We've been at this for some time and we'd be here for longer if you had not shown up regardless. It is worth another hour to wait to ensure that our tower is not infested with Daedric lice. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Tiglah said. "As well as could be expected, I suppose."

"Considering you are not catatonic, I would say that that is still much better than one might expect."

"True enough. What should I do with this elixir? Do you need to drink it?"

"No," Iachesis said. "Pour it into the scrying pool. Stand nearby and think about your experiences near Shimmerene and your encounters with the pearls and the cultists."

Tiglah nodded, pulled the stopper on the bottle, and poured it into the pool in the middle of the room. The liquid shimmered and glowed, and as the energy built up, images began to coalesce. The Earl of Clavicus Vile, and two faces she didn't recognize. She couldn't make out all the words, but they seemed to be ranting about something called the Court of Bedlam, and three Daedric princes working together: Clavicus Vile, Nocturnal, and Mephala. They also mentioned something about Rellenthil. That was the name of a city on Summerset, wasn't it?

"Well, that was disturbing," Iachesis said once the vision had vanished. "One Daedric Prince would be bad enough, but three of them? And working together, no less? I fear Summerset is in grave danger."

"What in Oblivion are they planning for Rellenthil?" Tiglah wondered, frowning.

"I don't know, but we need to find out," Iachesis said.

"I can check it out," Tiglah said. "Hopefully we're not too late."

"I shall accompany you," Valsirenn said. "You may need some backup."

* * *

It wasn't until she emerged into the sunlight on Summerset that she realized she was no longer a vampire. She'd been too distracted coming out of the water near that other city to notice the sun didn't bother her any longer. It stood to reason, she supposed. Her prior body was dead, and this was an entirely new body formed of Oblivion goop. This body had never been infected with _Sanguinare Vampiris_ , nor received Lord Harkon's blessing to become a vampire lord. She wasn't sure if she missed it or not. Maybe it was just as well.

"I overheard you speaking with the Ritemaster after you arrived back," Valsirenn said as they emerged from the portal. "I cannot imagine what you must have gone through."

Tiglah shook her head. "I think I'd rather not think too hard about it right now. It's disorienting enough, being back here and feeling like… like half of me is still in Oblivion. Which I guess it is."

She gave a hmm as she spotted something up ahead. A column of blue light shining into the sky directly across from the portal to Artaeum, just like the one the Prophet had called down. She'd definitely not noticed that Skyshard when she'd gone through the portal the first time. Upon activating it and letting its energy flow into her, she did feel a tiny bit more connected to the world.

Valsirenn curiously touched the Skyshard herself upon seeing it did no harm to Tiglah, but it had no effect upon her. "Fascinating. What did you do?"

"It only does that for me because I'm… well, yeah, that bit," Tiglah said. "Absorbing Skyshards like that is supposed to improve my connection to Nirn, and I think it did help."

"Ah!" Valsirenn said. "We should keep an eye out for more Skyshards along the way, then. Although you seemed to have an easier time spotting it than me."

"I'd also like to light and attune myself to any wayshrines we come across, too," Tiglah said. "Apparently I can use them as a really easy teleportation network, too. I don't recommend losing your soul to be able to do that, though."

"Yes, I believe I shall stick to normal teleportation magic, although I suppose I shall keep that in mind should I wind up in such an unfortunate circumstance."

Rellenthil wasn't too far, and when they arrived, Tiglah had to smile at seeing Razum-dar waving to them.

"Raz was wondering when the two of you might show up. And both wearing stylish robes, as well! Tiglah, my friend, did you join up with the Psijic Order, or simply swipe their laundry when they weren't looking?"

"Yes, Tiglah is a Psijic now. She is glad to see you here as well, Raz."

"I take it you've discovered something on your own that led you here?" Valsirenn asked.

"Nothing too specific," Raz said. "But Raz is certain that everything will become clear soon, now that the two of you are here. Have you learned anything yourselves?"

"Did any of your investigations turn up the name 'Court of Bedlam'?" Tiglah asked.

"Afraid not," Raz said. "Although it does not sound like a friendly rival to the House of Reveries."

"It's a Daedric cult," Valsirenn explained. "Three Princes working together! Tracing their plans directed us to Rellenthil. I dread to think what they might intend."

Tiglah's thoughts once again drifted back toward Molag Bal. She hadn't told these two of her prior affiliation, and she didn't think she was going to. It's not like Molag Bal recognized her or would realize any sort of betrayal from her if she chose not to renew her worship there. She was _already_ in enough trouble with him. She didn't think it likely he'd just give back her soul if she asked politely. She didn't think her continued worship would earn her any further consideration. Had it ever earned her anything in the first place? From all she'd seen, some Daedric Princes just tended to abuse their faithful, and Molag Bal was definitely one of those. It had been too late for second thoughts before, in the Fourth Era. In the Second Era, she had another chance.

She hated to think how her new friends might react to finding out about her previous poor choices in religion. Val and Raz were good people, with no good opinions on Daedra. And she didn't even blame them.

Their investigations led to them exploring a mysterious sinkhole that had recently opened up nearby. Tiglah held back for the most part, relying on her bow and not so much on her magic. It didn't take her friends long to notice her condition.

"Are you feeling alright, Tiglah?" Raz asked. "Or just holding back? Raz recalls seeing great flashy feats of magic from you before."

Tiglah sighed. "Some stuff happened while Tiglah was away. She is weaker than she is used to and her magic is not coming to her claws as easily as usual, but she is certain she will recover in time."

"'Some stuff'?" Raz repeated. "It sounds like there's a story there. No, no, Raz will not pry."

"Tiglah will tell you all about it once we're done fighting things for a bit," Tiglah promised. "She's just glad she isn't fighting any Daedric Earls in her current condition." She paused. "She really hopes she doesn't have to fight any Daedric Earls in her current condition."

"If you're getting too winded, you can head back to the surface and we'll finish up in here," Valsirenn suggested.

Tiglah shook her head. "Hiding from danger won't help, and Tiglah was never one to shy away from an adventure."

Overconfidence might be a problem, though. Their exploration revealed that the Sea Sload were connected to those pearls, and while Tiglah didn't have any personal experience with the Sea Sload, the books she'd read told her they were seriously bad news that was possibly even worse than the involvement of Daedric Princes. At least Daedric Princes tended to be _predictable_. Unfortunately, in the battle with an enormous sea monster, Tiglah found herself overwhelmed and torn apart before Raz and Val could help her.

* * *

Tiglah woke into sunlight. For a moment there, she'd felt disembodied, and then her body had come together again and she found herself laying in the grass next to the wayshrine in the hills they'd passed on the way to Rellenthil. Also she was naked again. She was having more problems with clothes lately than Queen Barenziah on a drunken bender.

She supposed it beat being dead, although it took her some pondering to figure out exactly _why_ she wasn't dead. She supposed she was technically a Daedra now, sort of, and Daedra couldn't really die. They just reformed themselves in Oblivion. She just must have reformed herself _at this wayshrine_ instead. Maybe this was what was meant by "attuning herself to Nirn". While she'd dearly like to figure out why, for the moment she'd just be grateful for her continued existence, and hope Raz and Val were okay without her.

She picked herself up and started heading back to Rellenthil and even got within sight of town before remembering she was still naked. With a sigh, she cast an invisibility spell and snuck up to the edge of town. Maybe this woman in the fancy purple mask could help her.

"Excuse Khajiit," Tiglah whispered. "But could you help her? She lost her clothes, and… agh, already used the 'sea monster ate my clothes' story once this week and it's even less plausible this far from the ocean."

The masked woman chuckled and politely didn't turn to look at her. "I'm certain you can come up with a better story than that. Spin me a good tale and I'll help you out."

"Oh, you want a spinning _tail_ , do you?" Tiglah turned around and twirled her tail over the woman's shoulder.

The masked woman laughed. "Alright, I should have seen that joke coming. Good one."

"Ah, but you couldn't have seen it coming. Khajiit was invisible." And still half hiding behind a low wall.

"Why don't you invisibly come inside and try on some clothes? We've got plenty of costumes that might fit you. My name is Alchemy, by the way."

"This one is Tiglah." She recast her invisibility spell and followed after Alchemy. "Lead the way. She will need to keep an eye out for her friends, though. They're probably worried about her." She paused. "No, they probably think she's dead. Well. Hopefully Tiglah can spot them before they start grieving too much."

"I have _got_ to hear this story," Alchemy said.

"Do you want the truth, a lie, or the _embellished_ truth?" Tiglah asked.

"What fun is it if you tell me which it is beforehand?"

"Point."

They got inside, and Alchemy showed her back to the costume room. It seemed like this group of actors could pretend to be anything from an Nord warrior, to a Dunmer spy, to a Redguard pirate, to an Imperial noble. On a whim, Tiglah pulled on the Nord clothes, although they were much too large for her.

"Perhaps I was battling a mighty dragon atop the Throat of the World," Tiglah said, slipping easily into her Riften accent. "Nay, not merely any dragon. It was Alduin the World-Eater, come to devour the world! With my axe, Wuuthrad reforged, the great weapon of Ysgramor, mightiest of the Nords, I cleaved his head clean off and mounted it upon my wall."

"Hmm, a bit much, but how would you have gotten to Summerset, then, mighty Nord?"

Tiglah waved a gauntleted paw. "Shenanigans. Let Khajiit try another one."

She stripped off the Nord garb and went for the dark elf clothes next, and this time put on the best Dunmer accent she could that she'd picked up from the Gray Quarter in Windhelm.

"There I was, standing upon the slopes of Red Mountain, locked in deadly combat with a fearsome cliff racer."

The Morrowind-born dark elves in Windhelm always complained about cliff racers. Tiglah hoped not to meet one. They made them sound like someone crossed a skeever with a dragon.

"It picked me up and carried me away to its nest. But as I prepared to meet my doom, I spotted an object in the nest. A strange orb, and when I touched it, I heard the voice of Meridia, Daedric Prince of Light, commanding me to destroy evil in Summerset in exchange for my life. Now, I've never been one for Daedra, even the supposedly 'good' ones, mind you. As a Dunmer, after all, I've always been a devout follower of the Tribunal."

At least according to the books she'd read, the Tribunal should still be the main religion in Morrowind.

"But seeing as I had little choice, I agreed," Tiglah went on. "And so I have come, to rid the land of dark conspiracies and evil plots."

"Hmm, better, better," Alchemy said, putting a hand on her chin, although it was hard to tell how thoughtful her expression might actually be under the mask. "You're certainly good with the accents, I'll give you that. But that still doesn't cover what happened to your clothes."

"True enough. Tiglah will think of something else."

Another glance out the window revealed still no sign of Raz and Valsirenn, and she had to wonder if it was even facing the same direction as the sinkhole anyway. No matter. She'd catch up to them shortly, if they'd survived. Of course they survived. As fun as playing dress-up was, she knew it was still just a distraction from worrying about them. She started pulling off the dark elven clothes.

"You're worried about your friends, aren't you," Alchemy said.

Tiglah nodded. "We were exploring the sinkhole. And… well, Tiglah is afraid that what actually happened is _far_ more fanciful and difficult to believe than those stories she was concocting."

"You can tell me later, if you wish, though perhaps it would be best not to know," Alchemy said. "Go ahead and take some of the common clothes. Those are easy to replace. Go find your friends. Maybe you'd be interested in thinking about joining the House of Reveries at some point. You did pretty well with improv. It would be interesting to see what you can do with a script."

"Perhaps," Tiglah said. "Thank you."

* * *

"Dark Moons!" Razum-dar exclaimed upon seeing her. "Tiglah? But we saw you die!"

Tiglah raised her paws. "This one can explain." She paused. "Wait, no, she really can't."

"This has something to do with your… ah, status, doesn't it?" Valsirenn asked.

"What status?" Raz asked.

"That thing Tiglah promised to explain?" Tiglah said. "Perhaps it is time to explain it."

"This doesn't involve more Daedra and foul magic, does it?" Raz asked. "Raz will be sorely disappointed if you say that you made a deal with a Daedric Prince for immortality or some such."

"No," Tiglah said with a smirk, then a sigh. "The short of it is that Tiglah was murdered, sacrificed to Molag Bal, and had to escape Coldharbour. She feels very fortunate to have been able to escape, though she did have help. But, the Lord of Brutality still has her soul."

"That doesn't really sound much better," Raz said. "Ugh, Raz hates all this Daedric nonsense."

"Tiglah trusts you can keep this quiet. She would prefer this not get around."

Raz nodded in agreement. "It is best to fit in as much as possible, to avoid attracting unwanted attention and unwelcome questions. People like to have boxes to put people into, so that they know how to deal with them. People don't know how to deal with someone who escapes certain death and doom at the hands of a Daedric Prince. Raz doesn't either, but Raz likes to think he is more flexible than most."

Tiglah chuckled. "Are you flirting again, Raz?"

Raz grinned at her and avoided the question.

"Tiglah assumes that the robes she was wearing were shredded into rags by the monster that killed her?"

Valsirenn nodded. "We weren't exactly going to strip your corpse, either. Although I did pick up your pack with the seals in it. I almost forgot about that." She passed the bag back to Tiglah.

Tiglah sung it back over her shoulders. "There's spells to repair clothes. After much practice of casting them after fights and scrapes, this one got rather good at them, although she doubts her prowess still matches up at the moment. Keeping belongings upon death — and this one is quite certain she will wind up dying again — would be more useful. This will require some research."

"I don't imagine that this is a problem most people have to deal with," Valsirenn said. "But you have the resources of the Psijic Order at your disposal. With more libraries than can readily exist in physical space in a small area, there might be _something_ that can help."

"Did the two of you discover anything after Tiglah died?"

Valsirenn glanced aside at Raz. "Razum-dar executed the Canonreeve's son for treason. Needless to say, the Canonreeve was not particularly thrilled about it."

Tiglah didn't even bother asking what a Canonreeve was.

"Raz needs to report back," Raz said. "And you will be going back to Artaeum to make your own report, yes?"

"Indeed so," Valsirenn said. "This isn't over yet. I'm certain we will run into one another again."

"Almost certainly. Raz looks forward to it! It is always a pleasure to work with competent people. Of course, it would be more of a pleasure if the working involved a lot fewer cultists and sea monsters."

* * *

Tiglah acquired a new set of robes while Valsirenn made her report to the Ritemaster. Seeing as Tiglah missed half the fight, it made more sense for Valsirenn to tell him herself. As for her bizarre problem, Tiglah thought the Loremaster might be a good place to start looking for answers.

"Ah, welcome back, Initiate Tiglah," Loremaster Celarus said. "How has sealing the time breaches gone?"

Tiglah cleared her throat. "I haven't actually gotten started on it yet, sorry. I've been too busy dying. Daedric rituals, Sea Sloads… you know how it goes. These things happen."

"That sounds unfortunate," Celarus said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

If nothing else, Tiglah could appreciate how the Psijics never freaked out about anything. They always seemed to manage to stay tranquil in the face of whatever weirdness you brought back. Really, she could imagine that they must have seen plenty of oddities in their time.

"I'm looking for a way to keep my belongings with me when I die," Tiglah explained. "After dying the last time, my body reformed itself at the nearest wayshrine. Naked. This was inconvenient and it would have been even more inconvenient had Valsirenn not been able to bring back my pack from the bottom of the sinkhole."

"Hmm," Celarus mused. "By what mechanism did you reincarnate at the wayshrine?"

"I'm guessing it's similar to how Daedra reform in Oblivion after they've been killed," Tiglah said. "But since my essence was retuned with Anuic energy from absorbed Aetherial shards, it was redirected to a divine shrine instead."

"A sound theory," Celarus agreed. "Though it might not be too useful as many of the objects Daedra use are also formed of Daedric essence. And a pocket realm like many of our libraries are in might be useful for things you are carrying but not so much things you are wearing. It's worth researching when you have the time, though."

Valsirenn rushed into the room. "Loremaster! Tiglah! The island is under attack!"

"Apparently I don't have the time right now," Tiglah said, grabbing her bow and quiver. "Who is attacking, and how did they even find this place?"

"Those sea creatures again," Valsirenn said. "They must have sensed the pearl we brought back. It's gone."

**Author's Note:**

> I make no guarantees about how much of this I'm actually going to wind up writing.


End file.
